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A day devoted to the historic city of Novgorod will begin in the Kremlin,
looking at the marvellous icon collection in the Art and History
Museum and hearing part of the Sunday liturgy in venerable St
Sophia, the Cathedral of the Holy Wisdom. Visiting the medieval
churches of the merchants’ wharf, on the far side of the river Volkhov,
we will trace the transition from the Byzantine to a truly Russian style.
From Novgorod we drive to St Petersburg, where we shall be staying at the celebrated Astoria Hotel, opposite St Isaac's Cathedral and a few minutes' walk from the Hermitage. Winter brings its own magic to the city and this is an opportunity to appreciate St Petersburg at an atmospheric and uncrowded time of year.
Peter the Great founded his ‘Window on the West’ on an island
in the Neva river in 1703. We will see his humble Log Cabin,
the Peter & Paul Fortress, burial place of the Tsars,
and the exterior of Rastrelli’s Smolny Convent.
There will be three separate visits to the Hermitage,
including the Treasury, with the fabulous Scythian Gold
and the exquisite royal treasures, as well as the Impressionist paintings
and the incomparable collection of Old Masters - displayed in the magnificent
interiors of the Winter Palace. We will also visit the
church of St Nicholas of the Marine and the Academy
of Arts and drive out to the great palace of Peterhof,
which fulfilled the Tsar’s dream of creating his own Versailles.
An excursion to Tsarskoe Selo will reveal the evocative
state rooms and the recently re-created Amber Chamber of the Catherine
Palace. We also plan to visit the Agate Pavilion
and the rooms of the last Tsar in the Alexander Palace.
After a tour of Grand Duke Paul’s enchanting Pavlovsk, where much
of the original decoration and furniture survive, we will arrange a troika
ride through the park to the Rose Pavilion.
Back in St Petersburg, we will study the icons and 19th
and 20th century paintings in the Russian Museum, housed
in the former palace of the Grand Duke Michael. We will also visit the
splendid Yusupov Palace, the great cathedral of St
Isaac’s and the fine Nesselrode Apartments
in the General Staff Building. During our stay we plan to attend a concert
of the St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra as well as
a classical ballet or opera performance in the dazzling azure-and-gold
Mariinsky Theatre.
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